ADHD In Girls and Women: How it's Different and Why it's Under Diagnosed

Let me start this of by saying that I'M NOT A DOCTOR or any other kind of specialist regarding this matter. But I did do a lot of research before posting this, so most of what is written here is facts that I found in my research and some of it is from personal experience.

Right! Let's get started.

When asked to picture a child with ADHD, this is what comes to most people's minds: a hyper-active child, who is academically weak, causes a lot of disruption and problems, disobedient to the point of being rude and who has a a lot of difficulty with authority.

These signs are easy to spot. These are also signs that are not very common in girls. Girls tend to have the more subtle signs of ADHD. Which is one of the reasons ADHD/ADD is extremely under-diagnosed in girls. There is also the belief that it is a "boy's disease".

Girls tend to be more of the daydreamers type rather than the troublemaker. Also it's not necessary that they are academically weak. Girls tend to overcompensate and while the parents may not realize it, they need extra help.

Also one of the reasons for the under-diagnosis of ADHD/ADD in girls is that most people don't know that there are different types ADHD and they only look signs of one type. There are three types of ADHD:

1. Inattentive type

2. Hyperactive-Impulsive type

3. Combination type

Some signs of ADHD in girls are:

1. Nonstop Talking

2. Friendship Troubles

3. Difficulty Paying Attention

4. Exceptional Messiness

5. Unfinished Work

6. Emotionality : They are likely to act out when faced with having to handle negative emotions like anger, frustration, etc.

7. Instead of acting out or throwing tantrums, girls are more likely to blame themselves

It is important to remember that while hormonal changes during adolescence calms/ reduces the signs of ADHD in boys, it often has an opposite effect in girls. Although is isn't necessary that it happens at puberty, it can also happen during times of extreme stress and/ or when there is a major change in life.

I'll write more on this topic soon, but for now that's it. And also I'll try to make these articles brief. Hope you found this helpful.